Dusty Street was one of the first women to work as a rock and roll DJ, most famously at Los Angeles’ KROQ-FM.
- Died: October 21, 2023 (Who else died on October 21?)
- Details of death: Died in Eugene, Oregon, at the age of 77.
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Dusty Street’s legacy
Street maintained that she was the first female DJ on the west coast. She got her start in radio in San Francisco, where she worked at KMPX, KTIM, and KSAN. She first went on the air in 1967, covering for an absent DJ, and she proved popular enough that she was given a full-time overnight shift in 1969.
Street moved to the Los Angeles market in 1978, when she was hired by alt-rock giant KROQ-FM. She was at KROQ through 1996, working during the height of the headline-news controversy over rock music lyrics sparked by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). Street was among the music industry figures who spoke out against the PMRC’s attempts to give content-related ratings to music.
After many years on traditional radio, Street shifted to satellite radio as a DJ for SiriusXM over the past two decades. She hosted shows on the Deep Tracks and Classic Vinyl channels. In 2015, she was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame.
Though many listeners assumed Dusty Street was a pseudonym, it was her given name. Among her signatures was the mantra “Fly low and avoid the radar.”
Notable quote
“I like what I do. I could be making a whole lot more money someplace else. I’d be pulling down $80,000, $90,000 if I’d buckle down and be a Brenda Ho-Ha for somebody. But, hey, my mind’s more important than my bank account.” —from a 1985 interview for the Los Angeles Times
Tributes to Dusty Street
Full obituary: Los Angeles Times
